Hi all,
in the present discussion, it might be useful to consider the term
'thesis' as 'proposition maintained by argument', rather than
'dissertation' as 'extended scholarly essay that expounds or
maintains a thesis or proposition'. Here, I reference my co-authored
paper (2008) about doctoral research portfolios which in the context
of professional doctorates, increasingly utilise 'portfolios' (drawn
from the creative fields) to evidence doctoral level achievement:
The term 'exegesis', according to Krauth (2002), originated as an
explanatory text for the Scriptures because canonical texts were so
important to the culture that they needed explanation. More recently
in journalistic terms, the exegesis operates as a critique of
creative output, telling the culture through the mass media whether a
work is valuable or merely tangential to culture. Krauth criticises
this popular conception of the exegesis, suggesting that it is more
about taste and fashion than it is about the 'meanings and workings
of the creative piece under consideration' (p. 3). This role was also
performed by universities, Krauth argues, who now provide the
exegetical function of explaining theory and/or philosophy to the
culture.
Thesis and dissertation
According to the New Shorter Oxford Dictionary (cited in Maxwell &
Kupczyk-Romanczuk, 2007, p. 2), a 'thesis' is defined as a
proposition that is maintained by argument, while a 'dissertation' is
an extended scholarly essay that expounds or maintains a thesis or
proposition. These definitions are by no means conclusive, but are
helpful for explicating their relations in the following discussion
of selected examples arising from a survey of universities currently
using doctoral research portfolios.
If anyone is interested, the paper is available on Academia.edu
Clerke, T. & Lee, A., 2008, 'Mainstreaming the doctoral research
portfolio', in Margaret Kiley & Gerry Mullins, (Eds), Quality in
Postgraduate Research: Research Education in the New Global
Environment, Refereed Proceedings of the 2008 Quality in Postgraduate
Research Conference, 17-18 April 2008, Adelaide, South Australia, The
Centre for Educational Development and Academic Methods, The
Australian National University, Canberra, pp. 17-29.
There have been some lively discussions about the exegesis in
creative doctorates, and particularly relevant is the discussion
about how to examine them (see Arnold in relation to creative
writing):
Allpress, B. & Barnacle, R. (2007). Projecting the PhD: Architectural
design research by and through projects. In Changing Practices in
Doctoral Education, D. Boud & A. Lee (Eds.), London: Routledge Press,
(forthcomng).
Arnold, J. (2005). The PhD In Creative Writing Accompanied By An
Exegesis. The Journal for University Teaching and Learning. 2(1).
Retrieved August 22, 2007, from
http://jutlp.uow.edu.au/2005_v02_i01/pdf/arnold_003.pdf
Barrett, E. (2004). What Does it Meme? The Exegesis as Valorisation
and Validation of Creative Arts Research. Text Special Issue. 3.
Retrieved October 9, 2007, from
http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/text/speciss/issue3/barrett.htm
Krauth, N. (2002). The Preface as Exegesis. Text 6(1). Retrieved
October 9, 2007, from http://www.gu.edu.au/school/art/text/
Kroll, J. (1999). Uneasy Bedfellows: Assessing the Creative thesis
and its Exegesis. Text. 3(2). Retrieved October 9, 2007, from
http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/text/oct99/kroll.htm
Maxwell, T.M., & Kupczyk-Romanczuk, G. (2007). The Professional
Doctorate: Defining the portfolio as a legitimate alternative to the
dissertation. Submitted for publication in Innovations in Education
and Teaching International (re-submitted in August, 2006), Retrieved
August 22, 2007, from
http://www.une.edu.au/ehps/staff/tmaxwellpubs.php#item2
Walker, R. (1998). Writing down and writing up in the professional
doctorate - journals and folios. In T. W. Maxwell, & P. J. Shanahan.
(Eds.). Professional Doctorates: Innovations in Teaching & Research.
(Armidale, NSW, Faculty of Education and Professional Studies, UNE),
p. 93-96.
cheers, Teena
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